A Cyclist In The Tour De France Was Busted For Using His Cellphone At Nearly 40 MPH

As if we needed it, we have more evidence cellphones have invaded every aspect of modern life, sports being no exception.

Consider a sacred institution now infiltrated: the Tour de France, the greatest of all bicycle races, celebrated the world over for its strong traditions and panache.

Yes, a rider has been caught using his phone during the race— apparently at nearly 40 miles an hour.

On the Tour's eighth stage, Italy's Luca Paolini of the Katusha team was caught red-handed by sports photographer Graham Watson, who tweeted the photo and called out the rider:

This wouldn't be Luca Paolini texting from his iPhone in today's stage, would it - at about 60-kph..! http://t.co/Spbcz5ZniL— Graham Watson (@grahamwatson10) July 12, 2014

The race organizers caught wind of this and published a note reminding everyone that the use of cellphones during the race by riders was not allowed according to the sport's governing body, the International Cycling Union:

Paolini, a very charismatic rider and heavy Twitter user with a penchant for emoticons, admitted what he'd done and claimed he merely forgot his phone was in his jersey pocket and was simply turning it off:TwitterHe apologized to the organizers for breaking the rules and thanked them for letting him off with only a warning: